New strategies based on transition-metal catalysis or organocatalysis have provided new perspectives into the total synthesis of cyclobutane-containing natural products.
The α-exo-methylene-γ-butyrolactone moiety is present in a vast array of structurally diverse natural products and is often central to their biological activity. In this review, we summarize new approaches to α-exo-methylene-γ-butyrolactones developed over the past decade as well as their applications in total synthesis.
The synthesis of steroids and gaining an ultimate understanding of their reactivity was one of Sir Derek Barton’s most notable research areas. This highlight will focus on the construction of the steroid ring system from 2016 to 2018, and will include pathways that eventually led to natural product synthesis. For example, efficient syntheses of ent-pregnanolone sulfate and oestradiol methyl ether will be explained along with the total synthesis of cannogenol-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside.
Total Synthesis of Desoxoprosophylline: Application of a Lactam-Derived Enol Triflate to Natural Product Synthesis